Elizabeth Peters

Keeping up with my once-a-month-ish posting, here’s one I meant to write a while ago. Back in March I mentioned that I’ve been rereading a lot of Elizabeth Peters’ books, and the trend has definitely continued thanks to the ebooks available from Library2Go, Oregon’s source for library ebooks. Sadly, the collection of Amelia Peabody books is patchy, and I’d rather go through the series in order, so I’ve been reading her stand-alones and the Jacqueline Kirby series. Originally, I would read ebooks on my phone while nursing, and now I read less in the middle of the night (hurray for longer stretches of sleep!) and more while I’m pumping at work.

Since having the baby, I’ve read:

Naked Once More (Jacqueline Kirby #4)

The Dead Sea Cipher

Crocodile on the Sandbank (Amelia Peabody #1)

Die for Love (Jacqueline Kirby #3)

The Copenhagen Connection

The Seventh Sinner (Jacqueline Kirby #1)

The Murders of Richard III (Jacqueline Kirby #2)

And I’m currently reading The Camelot Caper, which is a stand-alone but (spoiler!) includes the notorious John Smith, and favorite character from the Vicky Bliss series (I reread all the VB books in 2008, when a new one came out, so I haven’t been choosing them this time around – they’re favorites, though).

Elizabeth Peters is one of the first adult authors I remember feeling like I had to make other people read. I’m not sure if my mom started reading them first, or me, but I worked my way through all her books in high school – the ones published under Elizabeth Peters (which are typically funny mysteries/capers) and the ones published as Barbara Michaels (more gothic/suspenseful), although of course her real name is Barbara Mertz.

Most of the books have held up pretty well – there are some dated bits, especially in the books with Americans traveling abroad, but the humor doesn’t date. I still love the way she works history and foreign locations into the stories – I think that was a big draw for me, originally.The characters in her stand-alones can be a bit flat, but the series characters are some of my favorites. If you’re ever looking for something diverting, with a mystery, typically a bit of archaeology or history, and some wit, I definitely recommend Elizabeth Peters.